Activists appeal logging plans in Cherokee forest

KNOXVILLE (AP) - Three activist groups have asked the U.S. Forest Service to stop plans to cut and sell timber from 950 acres of the Cherokee National Forest because they believe it would damage wildlife, recreation and drinking water supplies.
The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the appeal with the forest service on behalf of Cherokee Forest Voices and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee, group officials announced Tuesday.
However, district ranger Candace Allen said Tuesday she had not received the appeal. Citizens had 45 days until midnight Monday to appeal by e-mail or fax, and mailed responses had to be postmarked by that date.
The groups said they asked the forest service to conduct an environmental impact study for the proposed timber sale instead of a less-strenuous environmental assessment to determine the effects of logging on Holston Mountain in Sullivan County.